This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
As is well known by any manufacturer of ski bindings, as well as most users of ski bindings, a ski binding should comprise of as few functional parts as possible to functionally flawless in use when exposed to repetitive stress, snow, ice and water entering and freezing within the binding.
Moreover, less functional parts allows easier assembly and lower production cost of the binding. To further reduce production cost while simultaneously offering a high quality binding to a customer at acceptable sale price, is it advantageously to allow most or all of the assembly of the parts of the binding to be performed in a fully automatic process. The fewer manual operations required, the less expensive the binding becomes.
Currently there exists a very large amount of ski bindings on the market, and a substantial number of these bindings is based on the well-known NNN norm, i.e. for use with ski shoes that has a transversal engagement pin mounted underneath the front of the sole of the ski shoe, the binding engaging the engagement pin at either end of the engagement pin or parts of the engagement pin. Several of these ski bindings are constructed in a way that requires several manual and/or complicated automated operations to able to assemble the different parts of the binding. In particular, in an automated assembly operation it is disadvantageous to allow operations performed from different directions, i.e. some operation in a vertical direction, some in a horizontal direction as well as at an angle relative to these directions. Also, rotating a constructional part or element could complicate or add further complexity or cost of the required equipment. Operations in several directions to assemble parts could therefore include joining certain parts either manual or in different position prior to the in-line part assembly.
Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a ski binding that comprises construction parts or elements that are easy to assemble; that has a simple, yet reliable release mechanism with improved release-element functionality; that provides an improved shoe fixing member; and offers an easy method to assemble the parts.
The following non-exclusive list over references to prior art is listed to illustrate some of the disadvantages of the prior art that the present intentions aims at solving. U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,053; EP 1,848,516 B1 and WO 04/050197A1 all relates to a ski binding that requires more constructional parts than envisaged and offered by the present invention, and that further requires that the constructional parts is mounted from different directions.
To illustrate prior art release mechanisms having a release button and a shoe fixing element it is referred to EP 1,848,516 B1; U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,6; U.S. Pat. No. 6,957,827; U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,199; U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,405; U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,843 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,808. Another reference to prior art relating to a snowboard binding is U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,250. These prior art references either includes an element that transfers the force between a locking button and a locking slider, or an additional locking element that secures the shoe in the binding and wherein such an locking element in turn is operated by the locking slider by activation of the locking element.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,620; U.S. Pat. No. 6,957,827; U.S. Pat. No. 6,623,027; U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,843 and WO 04/050197 A1 relates to the aspect regarding a locking slider of a ski binding.